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Windows 7 Start Button: Get it back

Windows 8.1 (codenamed "Blue") will reportedly reinstate two sorely missed features, but there's no need to wait for 's update to get them.

If you've recently upgraded to Windows 8, perhaps you miss your old reliable companion, the iconic Start button. While the death of the PC has certainly been exaggerated, Microsoft's axing of the Start button from Windows 8 certainly hasn't helped its adoption.

Further aggravating users has been the Metro Modern UI, an elegant touch-friendly interface that morphs into the bane of your existence with the absence of a touch-friendly monitor or gesture mouse. Windows 8's default boot procedure is to boot into this new app hub instead of the traditional desktop. (Psst, hey Windows Client team: You should be detecting the type of display a user has and booting Windows into either the desktop or Metro based on what they have.)

Here's the truth: I love Windows 8 because of its snappy boot speed and reliability. But I also love it because I already have the Start button and the boot to desktop feature installed, courtesy of a single free piece of software called Classic Shell.

With more than 300,000 downloads per week, the demand for these absent features certainly exists. Some power users have been rocking this app since Windows 8 launched, but it definitely doesn't have mainstream awareness yet. Let's change that with these steps:

As I said, Windows 8 and its Modern UI interface is fantastic and intuitive on a touch screen, but even on the Surface Pro I still prefer booting into my trusty desktop. It's humorous that two features of Windows 8.1 will simply be the reinstating of two essential features that users have embraced since Windows 95. But hey, now you can get back to familiar territory whether or not the Windows 8.1 rumors ring true.